Sandra reviewed Boy's Life by Robert R. McCammon
Review of "Boy's Life" on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
I'm not so sure about this one. It kind of was all over the place. The magical realism... just no. It would have been a more powerful story if the focus was a son watching a father struggle to come to terms with a traumatizing event as he himself charts his own course through adolescence. Children grow up thinking their parents have all the answers, have life figured out. It can rock their foundations when they realize their parents can fail, can be frightened, can have a have a hard time moving forward after adversity. A young boy entering adolescence is often times conflicted about his parents anyway, let alone if something life altering befalls the family. But, no. The author chose to make it all whacky with zombie dogs and dinosaurs and steal scenes right out of a Stephen King novella. It was a southern gothic coming of age …
I'm not so sure about this one. It kind of was all over the place. The magical realism... just no. It would have been a more powerful story if the focus was a son watching a father struggle to come to terms with a traumatizing event as he himself charts his own course through adolescence. Children grow up thinking their parents have all the answers, have life figured out. It can rock their foundations when they realize their parents can fail, can be frightened, can have a have a hard time moving forward after adversity. A young boy entering adolescence is often times conflicted about his parents anyway, let alone if something life altering befalls the family. But, no. The author chose to make it all whacky with zombie dogs and dinosaurs and steal scenes right out of a Stephen King novella. It was a southern gothic coming of age fantasy mystery and thus messy.
It was better than okay, but could have been so much better, imho.
